


The Ability to Get Things Done

by katie_m



Category: Stargate SG-1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-08
Updated: 2010-01-08
Packaged: 2017-10-06 00:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katie_m/pseuds/katie_m
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seven drabbles for seven virtues.  Spoilers through Homecoming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ability to Get Things Done

**Temperance**   
_moderation and self-restraint_

When Lya first came to the Stargate, Antaeus and Ohper had a shared expression, one they seemed to use every time she asked Why. (Why not ask them to leave? Why not expel them? Why not block the gate?) Later, after Nafrayu and all that went with him, she asked Antaeus what the expression had meant. "You were very young," he said gently, and she had to admit that was true.

Lya guesses that she's wearing that expression now. Their guests want so badly, and she can't help but be charmed by it.

_You'll understand when you're older_, she thinks.

 

**Charity**   
_benevolence or generosity toward others or toward humanity_

To the Asgard High Council, from Supreme Commander Thor, onboard Beliskner: Greetings.

I regret to inform the Council that the Beliskner had already acted under section 182 to eject the goa'uld Heru-ur from Cimmeria by the time I received your communiqué expressing a desire to resolve the matter diplomatically. You will undoubtedly be pleased to hear that this was a relatively minor incursion, and appears to have resulted in no more than four hundred deaths. I have taken it upon myself to assist the Cimmerians in rebuilding, since I am certain that the Council shares my dedication to their well-being.

 

**Justice**   
_fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law_

The demon knows her very well, by now. She shows Sha're a world without Apophis, whispering _all this will be ours._

Amaunet has always found brutality... inelegant, and she knows her host intimately, better than her own body. She appreciates having a companion who cannot betray her and survive, and so she's spent years awakening Sha're to the pleasures they can share. On Abydos, Amaunet had been sure their joint satisfaction meant the host had finally learned to see clearly through her queen's eyes.

Sha're likes that she's surprised her, here at the very end. Amaunet never has understood guilt.

 

**Fortitude**   
_strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity with courage_

When Apophis was still young, as the Gods count these things, one of his slaves spent an afternoon explaining her belief that after you die, you "get what you deserve." Although the slave expired soon thereafter - gods do not take kindly to attempts at conversion - Apophis always remembered that part of her philosophy and fervently embraced it.

He had died. First at the hands of the Tau'ri, when they refused him a new host, and then many times in Sokar's palace. He knew what he deserved, and it began with the glow of Heru-ur's systems on his display.

 

**Faith**   
_secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will_

After Elrad's first visit to the Hall of Wisdom, Fleyman Tesker admitted that he found the experience terrifying.

"But it is... an honor." Elrad said hesitantly. "To be in the presence of our God."

"So it's been your experience that it's always a good thing to attract Freyr's attention?"

It was the one matter of faith that they never agreed on. Elrad secretly believed his clarity of vision was a blessing, and thanked Freyr daily for not presenting him with Tesker's challenges. He wondered if that was why he was Fleyman now, for Ragnarok.

Somehow, that wasn't a comforting thought.

 

**Prudence**   
_careful management; economy_

A mother and child encountered a lion blocking their way as they went to pick peaches. "I forbid you to challenge the lion over those peaches," the mother said.

"Oma, why not just kill the lion with arrows?" the child asked.

"If we use our arrows now for peaches," she replied, "what will we do when the lion comes to our door?"

After the lion had lain in the path for weeks, the mother spotted her child trying to hide a peach pit. "I crept past while it slept," the child explained. "You forbade me the lion, not the peaches."

 

**Hope**   
_something that is hoped for or desired_

"Because it _won't work_, Dreylock. We survived last year because we took care of ourselves, instead of depending on an alien military organization that's more interested in its moral scorecard than in our lives."

"This is different, because this time we've got a common enemy. And if you've got a better idea, Commander, I'd love to hear it."

"No." The chamber shook with another impact, and Dreylock flinched, glancing up at the Stargate and wondering just how securely it was installed. "No, go ahead. If you can convince the holier-than-thou Earthers to get their hands dirty, more power to you."


End file.
